Chris
Clow/RMD:
How
has
reverse
business
this
year
been
going,
and
how
do
you
foresee
business
progressing
by
the
time
we
get
to
December?

Tyler
Plack:
We
just
finished
out
May,
and
I
thought
the
May
results
were
very
good.
I’m
excited
about
where
we’re
headed.
Some
of
our
corporate
goals
have
been
to
increase
the
size
of
our
sales
floor
and
to
focus
on
bringing
on
some
of
these
remote
loan
officers
in
the
“feet
in
the
street”
model.
The
reception
we’ve
received
from
some
of
those
loan
officers
has
been
very
warm
and
exciting.

What
we’re
seeing
in
terms
of
our
in-person
and
call-center
model
is
that
it
continues
to
grow
as
well.
The
results
have
been
increasing
month
over
month
for
every
month
this
year.
Our
expectation
is
that
this
trend
will
continue
through
the
end
of
the
year.
To
say
that
I
am
bullish
on
reverse
mortgages
is
probably
an
understatement.

Clow:
Your
company
was
highlighted
in

a
recent
RMI
report
for
a
significant
boost
in
originations
between
February
and
March.
I’m
curious
about
how
sourcing
is
going.
Are
you
focusing
on
any
particular
area
of
business
to
build
out
further
and
keep
things
moving
through
the
year?

Plack:
Yeah,
we
are
very
focused
on
our
direct-mail
model.
We’ve
done
a
lot
of
work
in
the
data
science
department.
This
is
such
a
crucial
corporate
goal
that
I
probably
spend
about
half
of
my
day
focused
on
data
science.
It
is
that
important
to
what
we
do.
Some
of
the
increase
in
results
you’re
seeing
is
due
to
gains
we’re
making
in
the
statistics
world.

What
that
is
exactly
is
a
statistical
model,
but
it’s
done
well
and
continues
to
improve.
We’re
really
excited
about
that
and
expect
to
continue
growing
originations,
largely
through
our
own
marketing
and
this
new
external
sales
model
that
we’re
building.

Clow:
Without
revealing
anything
proprietary,
I’m
curious
about
how
data
science
factors
into
the
decision-making
process.
What
more
can
you
tell
me
about
what
you’re
looking
at
and
how
you
apply
it
to
translate
into
return
on
investment?

Plack:
I
think
there’s
a
box
of
consumers
who
want
the
product
but
don’t
qualify
for
it,
and
there’s
a
box
of
consumers
who
qualify
but
don’t
want
the
product.
What
we
really
want
to
focus
on
is
the
consumers
who
want
the
product
and
qualify
for
it.
That’s
where
the
data
modeling
comes
in.

We’re
looking
at
the
overall
credit
picture
and
the
overall
property
picture,
applying
a
ton
of
math
and
statistical
models
to
find
who
we
can
help
the
most.
This
results
in
us
helping
more
people
at
a
lower
cost
and
making
sure
that
the
people
we’re
talking
to
can
actually
be
helped,
rather
than
people
who
would
love
our
help
but
unfortunately
will
never
qualify
for
it.
So,
it’s
about
the
intersection
of
both
the
level
of
interest
of
the
consumer
and
our
projections
on
their
qualification.

Clow:
Is
that
data
you
can
acquire,
or
is
it
mainly
generated
internally,
or
do
you
take
another
approach
to
processing
it?

Plack:
It’s
a
mixture
of
everything.
There’s
some
data
we
take
from
other
sources,
and
there’s
a
ton
of
data
we
have
internally
that
we’re
using
as
well.
We
throw
all
that
into
a
model
that
helps
us
decide,
on
a
week-to-week
basis,
who
is
going
to
have
the
highest
propensity
to
take
the
loan,
close
and
fund.

Clow:
Do
you
think
that
is
used
enough
in
the
industry?
It
doesn’t
seem
like
there’s
a
lot
of
emphasis
on
data
science
in
the
broader
business,
although
I
could
be
mistaken.

Plack:
I
think
there
are
certainly
gains
to
be
made
through
better
modeling,
but
I
don’t
know
that
it’s
the
key
for
everyone.
I
know
it’s
worked
well
for
me
due
to
our
analytically
minded
team,
but
for
the
average
loan
officer
or
sales
manager,
I
wouldn’t
focus
on
the
data.
I
would
focus
on
making
connections
with
financial
advisers
and
planners,
and
using
traditional
methods.
With
scale,
it
makes
sense
the
way
we
do
it,
but
there
is
more
than
one
way
to
originate
loans.

Any
company
should
take
a
multifaceted,
multimodal
approach.
We
might
be
really
good
at
direct
mail,
but
we
could
be
missing
out
on
referral
networks
and
that
style
of
origination.
We’re
working
to
build
into
that.
For
those
who
don’t
have
exposure
to
direct-mail
marketing,
perhaps
they
should
spend
some
time
in
it.
Just
like
an
investment
portfolio,
your
marketing
strategy
should
be
diversified.

Look
for
more
from
Tyler
Plack
and
South
River
on
RMD
soon.